Elijah Wald has spent part of his life walking backward just to get American consciousness moving forward.

Drivers who see Wald standing on a lonely stretch of highway are universally familiar with his revolutionary tool of change: his thumb.

A lifetime hitchhiker, musician and writer, Wald, 47, believes the citizens of the United States have become prisoners of an unwarranted wave of fear and paranoia.

Studies show that violent crime is down, but people’s fear has risen. Days governed by the color-coded terrorism alert system, front-page stories that “lead because they bleed” and violence glorified in movies and TV have molded our understanding of society in a negative way. And consequently, Wald says, our worlds get smaller and our experiences more isolated as we try to hide ourselves in jobs, families and neighborhoods.

Many people never pick up hitchhikers because the perceived risk is too great. While a spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol declined to comment on the safety of hitchhiking, he did say that state laws prevent pedestrians from being on certain stretches of highway because of safety issues. Hitchhiking, however, is not illegal.

Wald maintains hitchhiking is the “perfect antidote” for society’s alienation because of the intimate encounters with random strangers who welcome you to their space will bring about growth and openness.

“It’s one small effort to get America to come to its senses and realize that the people just by and large aren’t scary,” says Wald, whose book “Riding With Strangers, A Hitchhiker’s Journey” comes out in May.

The book chronicles Wald’s experiences while hitching across the country from Seattle and Boston, and is filled with tips, detailed history of the communal form of travel and roadside lore and philosophy. Wald defends the idea that hitchhiking remains a safe way to travel.

“The world is a safer place than most think, and I encourage people to go out and deal with the real world rather than watching it on television,” he said. “They will find most of the time the world is a friendly place.”

Wald represents a new group of hitchhikers who aren’t just looking for a free ride and adventure, but who want to make a point, says Morgan Strub of the popular digihitch.com site.

“Many of us feel that hitchhiking has become a political and social statement, not just a cheap way to get around,” says Strub, whose website boasts more than 6,000 members worldwide. Popular chat forums include comments from individuals new to hitchhiking and looking for tips.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, hitchhiking was a romanticized notion about freewheeling it and throwing responsibilities to the wind. The economic fight for success that characterized the 1980s and the 1990s made hitchhiking something hobos, the desperate or the dangerous were forced to do.

“But people are (hitchhiking) now to get their own meaning out of it,” says Strub. “It was a form of education for me when I started at 16, and now at 32, hitchhiking has shaped my perspective on life. You are a better person because you are talking to countless people, learning tolerance and cultural understanding. It does prove that we don’t need to be so afraid to step outside our comfort zone.”

In his travels, Wald has met a businessman in Missouri and missionaries in Pennsylvania, has listened to conspiracy theorists in Iowa and shared long night rides with truckers through the Rockies. What he found most revealing and reflective of today’s society was the number of immigrant drivers who picked him up.

“In a couple of cases, they said they wanted to practice their English,” Wald said. “I think the fact that I’m standing out on Route 80 in the middle of the Great Plains with a guitar on my shoulder says a lot to a foreigner. That’s America to them. That’s every record album cover they’ve ever seen about what it’s like to be an American.”

John Haines, 62, of Glenwood Springs says society is moving so fast that few people have the time or patience to slow down enough and let a stranger in.

Haines used to hitch a ride nearly half a dozen times a year in the late ’70s, when he used to own car dealerships. He would regularly deliver a vehicle and hitchhike home because it gave him a chance to meet people.

It used to take him 10 or 15 minutes to get a ride. But six months ago, when he decided to give hitchhiking a try after a nearly six-year hiatus (he retired from dealerships in 2000), he waited two hours in Grand Junction before he gave up.

“People would look at me, and I’d wave at them sometimes,” Haines said. “They would look at me from a distance, but once they got right even with me, they wouldn’t look you in the eye. The fear of being injured and taken advantage of is real.”

He doesn’t believe drivers’ fears are unwarranted. He can’t ignore the news reports about random people being victimized, shot at and beat up.

But, he says, hitchhiking has enhanced his life by bringing him in contact with people he might never have met.

He felt honored once when the president of Adams State College offered him a ride. He remembers clinging to his belongings and his life when a motorcyclist offered him a seat. One driver offered him a sleeping bag for warmth during a cold evening over Vail Pass.

“When all of this fear and uncertainty goes away and people have a warm feeling for their fellow man again, hitchhiking will return.”

Wald, hitchhiking across the country on his book tour, will be in Boulder May 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Boulder Bookstore.

Tips for landing in the passenger seat

1. Find a place to stand where you can be seen from as far off as possible and where there is plenty of room for a driver to stop.

2. When leaving a big city, pick an entrance ramp where cars will have room to pull over.

3. Look clean and nonthreatening.

4. When carrying a guitar, wrap it in something that clearly shows its shape.

5. Walk up to truck drivers at rest stops to arrange rides.

6. Carry a sign that lets people know where you want to go.

7. Let the driver set the mood for the trip. Some are annoyed by a chatty passenger; others are not.

8. Thank the driver for stopping.

9. Don’t use a headset or read a book during the trip. Be a companion to the driver.

10. Keep your luggage within easy reach. If your driver is making you uncomfortable, ask him or her to pull over at the next exit.

Eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 were closed Saturday afternoon at Georgetown due to a semitrailer fire, the Colorado Department of Transportation tweeted. The right lane remains closed, while the other lanes have since reopened. Drivers can expect heavy delays, transportation officials said. The fire initially closed both sides of the interstate as smoked crossed the highway. The load on the...